A paint roller particularly suited for applying paint in corners or along edges of walls or ceilings without applying unwanted paint to adjacent surfaces is described in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,832. This edging paint roller includes a conical roller body rotating on a shaft angularly disposed to the roller and mounted in an open end of the roller. The adjustable handle shown for use with the edging roller includes locking means so that handle can be set to an appropriate angle from the plane of the contact surface. The present invention seeks to provide a simple locking device for adjusting this angular relationship to the wall surface while also providing angular positioning of the handle with respect to the roller to facilitate holding the roller with the axis vertical to provide a horizontal path for the roller as would be required to paint the upper edge of a wall adjacent a ceiling.
Prior attempts to provide an adjustable handle for a paint roller include patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,192; U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,676; U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,714, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,082 directed to locking the paint roller in an angularly adjusted position. The paint roller handles of these prior patents are limited to angular adjustability in only one direction. Although the swivel joint of U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,257 provides universal adjustment, it is not designed to adjust the angular relationship of the roller handle to the plane of the work surface required for optimum performance of the edging paint roller. The universally adjustable paint roller of U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,755 while providing adjustment in at least two directions, is not particularly suitable for use with the edging paint roller and would not be as inexpensive, rugged and reliable as the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a paint roller comprising: a paint roller cover on a tubular support, an axial shaft, spaced apart support discs for supporting the shaft, a shaft extension extending parallel to an outer face of the tubular support, an index wheel secured to the shaft extension, a connector rotatably mounted on the shaft extension and urged toward the index means by resilient means, a handle secured to the connector and at least one pin on the connector for releasably engaging the index wheel means for adjustably positioning the connector and the handle relative to the roller.